Robert Heinlein-Sci-fi with character. Reads like a sci-fi version of a Thin Man movie if you know what that is.

H.P. Lovecraft-One of the original horror/sci-fi writers Most everything written in the genre since was 'borrowed' from Lovecraft concepts

Edgar Rice Bouroughs-Pulp sci fi/fantasy at it's manliest. Not as much depth as Heinlein but great fun to read.

Robert E. Howard-The father of the sword and sorcery genre. He created Conan the Barbarian and the Hyborian world in which he lived. If you don't feel like going out and crushing your enemy, seeing them driven before you and hearing the lamentation of their women after reading Howard....then you're just not alive.

Maybe you'd like to give the Chung Kuo series, by David Wingrove, a spin.
I've only read the first one so far myself, but my dad tells me they're all good.
(first one was a great read, in my opinion. My interest is piqued).

He wrote books after Shards? Haha. For me it kind of ended after the first Riftwar. Although later books had their moments. Man did Feist like to plagiarise though! Especially Daughter of the Empire which was like word for word Shogun. And Rise of a Merchant Prince is pretty heavy on the James Clavell too... can't say I didn't find them entertaining at the time though. Then again I was a lot younger :P

---------- Post added 2012-12-05 at 06:47 AM ----------

I thought American Gods was... okay. It really lagged in the middle and I felt like I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with some of the minor characters, who were more interesting than the major ones. Picked up at the end though, and the big reveal almost makes it all worth it. Though I kind of felt like the whole "the gods of antiquity are real" genre is a bit done. Gaiman is a good writer, I wish he'd get back to doing lovingly detailed character pieces like his earlier works rather than his archetype-obsessed later work though.

My advice, read Sandman instead. That was awesome.

I have quite a few from the Sandman series

---------- Post added 2012-12-05 at 11:56 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Calzaeth

Whenever you're 'between' series, make sure to pick up a book in Terry Pratchett's Discworld. They are great interludes, relieving you of any built-up tension you may carry over from other books. (Try reading Malazan books and Joe Abercrombie back-to-back. You'll get what I mean by 'tension' )

Edit: I have this nifty fantasy-thread from MMO-C bookmarked. See if anything strikes your fancy :P

Pratchett is aweome, but because of the way the characters develop over multiple books the world doesn't feel as coherent for a reader until you've read at least a handful of them, and the OP seemed to want initial character depth. If you follow a character through a few books (for example the evolution of Vimes and Carrot) then the depth is there, but in any one novel the characterization tends to be much simpler. Still very good reads, but I don't know if they'd fit the bill for the OP, not to mention that satire is a tough sell to some people.

Salvatore's book Exile was one of the first fantasy books I read in English. I still have the old book, worn as it is; I've probably read it 50 or so times, though it's been a while.

Originally Posted by Amavesta

Hmmm...War of the Spider Queen is one of my favorites. I'll be reading the Lady Penitent next, and I imagine it's good since it's a continuation of the story from a couple characters from War of the Spider Queen.

Lady Penitent was a good book, but not quite on the level of War of the Spider Queen. Its still a fascinating book to read through, though.

“A fool is not a person who does not know something. Rather, a fool is a person who is given information but who chooses to ignore what he is given based on how he wants things to be, rather than how things are."

nowai! I didn't notice her! How could I miss my favouite Endless! Okay Death is probably my favourite, but just because she's so hot .... Then again I was on holiday and very drunk when I was reading so..... Whereabouts is she in it? (use spoiler tags or private message me if needed)

While we're talking about Niel Gaiman, I would recommend Neverwhere it's not his best work, but quite frankly bad Niel Gaiman is still better than most people Sandman FTW!

also... I can't BELIEVE I forgot the Dark Tower.... I must now go and kill myself, to remove this great shame from my family :'( BEYOND epic series, it becomes even better once you've finished, read the concordances and realise how basically EVERY decent book stephen king has ever written ties back in some way to The Dark Tower

When Odin and Shadow talks to eostre. "A young girl, no older than fourteen, her hair dyed green and orange and pink, stared at them as they went by. She sat beside a dog, a mongrel, with a piece of string for a collar and a leash."

Dream will always be my fave Endless and i just watched Madoka the other day, so many feels ;_;

" I'll tell you the ultimate secret of magic. Any cunt could do it." - John Constantine

I agree with most of the series mentioned above and have actually found some that I have yet to read but here are a few I have found amazing that have not been mentioned:

1. Shadowmarch Tetralogy by Tad Williams
2. Mentioned once before, Malazan book of the Fallen
3. Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky, a relatively new series but I would rate it at a level just below aSoIaF and WoT has 8 of the 10 books out with the next coming out next year.

Salvatore's book Exile was one of the first fantasy books I read in English. I still have the old book, worn as it is; I've probably read it 50 or so times, though it's been a while.

Lady Penitent was a good book, but not quite on the level of War of the Spider Queen. Its still a fascinating book to read through, though.

Yes. I've read the Farseerer Trilogy by Hobb and it was mediocre. I couldn't get into liveship traders, didn't pick up a book after the first one.

I've read everything Sanderson has done except his finishing of WoT, but his character development isn't always the best and he has some issues with any kind of romance scenes. However, if his next book in the series after The Way of Kings is as good as WoK, then I would say that series might become the new 'best' epic fantasy series.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons i think it has to be one of the top 10 deep reads.
Wheel of Time by Robert Jordon. Extreme character development throughout, great story. (sometimes drags a bit)
Shannara Series by Terry Brooks.
Deathstalker Series by Simon Green.

Yes. I've read the Farseerer Trilogy by Hobb and it was mediocre. I couldn't get into liveship traders, didn't pick up a book after the first one.

I've read everything Sanderson has done except his finishing of WoT, but his character development isn't always the best and he has some issues with any kind of romance scenes. However, if his next book in the series after The Way of Kings is as good as WoK, then I would say that series might become the new 'best' epic fantasy series.

I would have to respectfully disagree with you on that. While I do admit that the Farseer trilogy is, compared to other books in the genre, rather slow going, tedious, taking a long time to reach an undramatic conclusion... it has a, classic feel to it. Looking at it critically, its a solid piece of work in what it sets out to do, and I found it rewarding merely as a story that feels like a more original piece of fantasy literature largely uninfluenced by the works of Tolkein. It's a bit like watching an old movie. I haven't gone beyond the Farseer trilogy, though.

I was saving The Way of Kings for after my finals; looking forward to it even more now that you've expressed that. I've had difficulty finding a series that's captured my interest since Kim Harrison's books started going flat.

“A fool is not a person who does not know something. Rather, a fool is a person who is given information but who chooses to ignore what he is given based on how he wants things to be, rather than how things are."

If you haven't already, check out George R R Martin's "A song of Ice and Fire" known these days as "Game of Thrones" because of the HBO TV show. Nothing to me says "Complex with deep characters" like George Martin

Pretty much this, in Portugal it is 10 books they split the 5 books in half so instead of paying 38e peer book you pay 18e so it is cheaper ^^

Going on the 7th (first half of the 4th book) and i am loving it.

Best saga ever.

IF you haven't read anything from Dawn Brown, he has some interesting books like "The Davinci Code" , "The Lost Symbol" and my favorite "Angels and Daemons".

And if you want to get dumb you could also read the twilight saga :P

PS: My Girlfriend says that Haruki Murakami is a great writer and that has some amazing books, but i can't give you my personal opinion since i am still reading the George R.R. Martin Books.

Last edited by Etna; 2012-12-06 at 10:22 AM.

Bad - This is a bad player, he refuses to learn how to play correctly.
Casual - This is a player that will let everything else take priority over wow.
Hardcore - This is a player that is fine with putting things on hold while he's on wow.
Bad/Good - Measure of Skill.
Casual/Hardcore - Measure of Time

I would have to respectfully disagree with you on that. While I do admit that the Farseer trilogy is, compared to other books in the genre, rather slow going, tedious, taking a long time to reach an undramatic conclusion... it has a, classic feel to it. Looking at it critically, its a solid piece of work in what it sets out to do, and I found it rewarding merely as a story that feels like a more original piece of fantasy literature largely uninfluenced by the works of Tolkein. It's a bit like watching an old movie. I haven't gone beyond the Farseer trilogy, though.

I was saving The Way of Kings for after my finals; looking forward to it even more now that you've expressed that. I've had difficulty finding a series that's captured my interest since Kim Harrison's books started going flat.

I never read the Liveship trilogy but i did read The Tawny man trilogy. Which is a direct sequel to the Farseer trilogy.

" I'll tell you the ultimate secret of magic. Any cunt could do it." - John Constantine

PS: My Girlfriend says that Haruki Murakami is a great writer and that has some amazing books, but i can't give you my personal opinion since i am still reading the George R.R. Martin Books.

GAH, why is my brain made from fail

YES Haruki Murakami is a god, loved all his books, "Windup Bird Chronicle", his recent short series "1Q84" and "Hand boiled wonderland and the End of the World" are all epiccly win (read in that order)

I also have to agree with Kasierith, Farseer has a underwhelming conclusion because it's NOT the ending, it ties in with both Liveship Traders AND Tawny Man, you need to read all nine books to get the full picture and the full ending.

Originally Posted by Pvt Hudson

When Odin and Shadow talks to eostre. "A young girl, no older than fourteen, her hair dyed green and orange and pink, stared at them as they went by. She sat beside a dog, a mongrel, with a piece of string for a collar and a leash."

Dream will always be my fave Endless and i just watched Madoka the other day, so many feels ;_;

hahah How did I miss that Aaah Delirium, you are tragic, hilarious, confused, confusing and awesome, which is to say, a fairly typical Niel Gaiman character! To be honest TC, if you're accepting Graphic Novel suggestions, you cannot go wrong with the sandman series. It has everything you're asking for, if you can get past the slightly bad first book, the later books are solid gold and the final book 'The Kindly ones' is one of the best thing I've ever read, of ANY format.

I do like Dream, but I found him more than a little Emo and alot of the problems he gets into in the middle books are 100% his own stupid fault! That said he's still a great character, he's just a little annoying at times.

also :*( Madoka, can't wait to get the Bluray. Whenever anyone tells me Anime can't rouse the same feelings as live action TV, I show them Madoka

Reading A Song of Ice and Fire is like playing with an adorable puppy, then someone comes up out of nowhere, shoots the puppy and punches you in the face.

Stands in front of 100 enemies with 10% health left "Myeh, I'll save my potions for when I REALLY need them." - every rpg player ever.

Season of Mists was the first one I've read and still my favorite, you just can't beat greatest toast in the history of literature "To absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists; and may each and every one of us always give the devil his due." Best issue for me was probably "Three Septembers and a January".

For OP, after Dune there isn't much literature (sci-fi or otherwise) that can compare with it in terms of complexity or issues it raises. You could try Gene Wolfe and his Solar Cycle (it starts with four books, The Book of the New Sun (first novel is The Shadow of the Torturer), Wolfe is probably one of best writers alive today, regardless of genre.
Maybe Theodore Sturgeon's "More Than Human" (Sturgeon is weird, you'll either love or hate him), Heinlein is one of genre's greatest for a reason, maybe a bit dated today because everyone imitates him but still great, LeGuin's "Left Hand of Darkness" is always good read, and Zelazny's "Lord of Light" is really unique. My favorite is still "Stars My Destination" by Alfred Bester, I was young when I read it and it started my unquenchable love for sci-fi genre. For light reading with great characters, Vorkosigan Saga is awesome. Oh, and read Lord of the Flies by William Golding, it won Nobel Prize for a reason.